Ulta blows!

This is my first blog!~  Yay me, I'm nervous really, I have so much to say, but never have been very good at getting things out right.  So bear with me please......

I love makeup.  Seriously, LOVE is an understatement, I absolutely adore makeup!  For as long as I can remember, I have always felt so glamorous and beautiful with makeup on.  Eye makeup especially, but all makeup regardless.  I can be sick as a dog, or just homebound for a few days with no plans to go anywhere, and I still will find myself in front of the mirror playing with my collection of beauty, trying out different looks that I have seen online, etc.

I live up in the boonies of north Idaho, so needless to say, we don't have a Sephora anywhere close.  But we DO have a Sephora in JC Penney in the Spokane Valley Mall, which is approximately an hour and a half drive from me.  Now, I hate shopping, really hate it, big malls are not my thing, but put me in a makeup store, and I could live there!  So needless to say, I was like a little kid at Christmas the first time I went to Sephora.  I am happy to take the long drive, and deal with the hordes of shoppers, if I can just go to Sephora.  I love the testers that I can swatch all the different colors on, I love seeing the stuff in person rather than on the computer, I love being able to see what the packaging is like, I love being able to get free samples, LOVE this place.  I don't get to go often though, but when I do, it's a real treat.

Recently, we had an Ulta open up here in north Idaho, in Hayden, which is just about 45 minutes from me.  I was so excited to see a new makeup store go in, couldn't wait to go.  But my excitement has been dampered by several unpleasant visits, so I will not be going there again likely.  I have heard online from others that Ulta stinks, that the customer service is poor, that they don't ever actually have STOCK that they advertise, but I had to experience this in person for myself because everyone sees things differently.  Sadly it's true from my experience as well though.  I bought Urban Decay's new palette (which I LOVE and plan to blog on later), and it was advertised as having a free gift with purchase.  Surprise, Ulta is out of stock.  They still advertise it online, and they in fact just put a new ad out for online and in stores, advertising the same free gift, again a few weeks later.... but they wouldn't give me one, or substitute anything, and when I finally got a response from customer service about it, they just said "we don't get enough, and we're out".  Ok whatever, except that a couple days later the new flyer came out showing it some more.  ;)  They don't give samples either, they have hordes of them behind the counter, I've seen them give them to other customers, but me, I don't get them, apparently I'm not worthy?  Oh well, I can live with that, I will go spend my time and money at Sephora, and be happy.  But I am still going to vent my frustration online of course.  I always love hearing what others have to say, and it helps me decide if I want to go somewhere for something, since it's such a distance, and so I feel like maybe others want to hear these things too.